Unjust Michigan tax deed sale system and others like it continue to rip off property owners

It probably doesn’t come as a big surprise to you that there was a big Flint, Michigan tax deed sale this year. It didn’t surprise me in the least. After all, Flint may be one of the hardest-hit towns in today’s economy, and real estate values and sales are reflecting that unfortunate reality.

But what really knocked my socks off was a partial listing of the EXTREMELY VALUABLE properties that went through this particular Michigan tax deed sale. These properties were worth anywhere from $400,000 to over $2 Million dollars according to a recent article about the tax deed sale on mlive.com – and I thought the title (“Gems Among the Junk: Genesee County gets Seven Properties Worth More than $400,000 Each”) was most fitting! Already, a number of lessons can be taken from this event:

– Extremely valuable properties can and do go ALL THE WAY to tax deed – resulting in a total loss by the owner.

– Millions of dollars worth of property can be up for grabs before the sale – and not just “war zone” properties – even with a Michigan tax deed sale.

– Any one of US could have had a tremendous, life-changing opportunity if we could have gotten involved with even one of the properties that ended up in the county’s hands.

– And – if you don’t happen to know much about the Michigan tax deed sale system – the government will keep all the spoils if you don’t get in front of that owner to solve their tax problem!

Counties Reap Undeserved “Michigan Tax Deed Sale Spoils”

You may have read some of my previous articles, like “Tax Deed Sales Create an Unexpected Profit Source”, where we talk about the owner being eligible to collect substantial amounts of money in the event they lose a valuable property. In most states, if a property with a 6- or 7-figure value went up on the auction block, it would bid well in excess of the taxes owed.

This would then create a surplus. A surplus is the amount the county collected above and beyond what they were owed, after auctioning the property at the tax deed sale. So while the owner of a property like the one you see above would probably lose the property forever, it would be likely that as a “consolation prize” there would be a large surplus that the owner could collect to make the whole situation more just.

Don’t get me wrong, though I feel badly for anyone who loses a property to tax deed, I agree that at some point strict action must be taken and this can include loss of ones’ property after an extended time. So I’m not against the whole tax sale system per se – in fact it’s what gives us so many opportunities to make a great living even when the real estate market is down. The surplus being available to the owner is a sort of “check and balance” to help make the situation a little more just for the owner losing a property to a tax deed.

We even create another profitable business connecting people with their long-lost surplus funds for a contingent finder fee (see some of the hundreds of checks our trainees have obtained at our Hooked on Overages Site!)

How About Some Checks and Balances in the Michigan Tax Deed Sale, and Others Like It?

What I DON’T agree with is government deciding that at some point the taxpayer’s property became THEIRS. 100% theirs. Despite the fact that the taxpayer likely owes only 5-10% of the property’s value in taxes, states such as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Oregon want more. In fact, they want it all. So they foreclose the property completely, and they make sure to do it well ahead of the tax deed sale. Now, because of a relatively low tax bill that was owed, they’ve become 100% owner and wiped the owner out.

But, as usual in most tax deed states, they let the bidding go wild several months later at the tax deed sale. And the county loves it – because THEY now own the property, and as such THEY get all the surplus funds from the sale! And the owner is truly left blowing in the wind with NOTHING.

I wanted to write about this today not to complain about government – in my opinion that will get you nowhere. Rather, I want you to see the HUGE opportunities that exist in these “backward” states to snag tax sale property BEFORE the county can get their hands on it. Remember – by the time a tax deed list comes out, there is only one owner and they don’t sell except at auctions! Take a little time and delve into the FORECLOSURE process that the county performs prior to the sale and you will find a wealth of properties that nobody but you has access to.

Finally, make sure the owners realize that the final date to redeem their property may come and go with as little as a notice in the mail – no big auctions or evictions when that day passes. The big Michigan tax deed sale windfall will be savored by Uncle Sam (or rather his local counterparts) several months down the road!

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Comments (31)

i know this is just a responder ad but for the love of god stop trying to say theres a tax deed sale auction anywhere in Michigan they stopped that in the 90s s so quit giving everyone here in michigan their hopes up your just trying to take our money

Rick you are saying that in Michigan’s case you go after mortgage foreclosure overages rather than tax sales because the government has superseded in that particular state? Could you list the others so I have a grasp on what ones to do mortgage foreclosure overages? Thanks.

Yes, that’s what you’d have to do if you wanted to run an overages business in Michigan. Tax Sale overages simply don’t exist because the county owns the property at the time of the sale and therefore is just “selling” the property they acquired at foreclosure some months earlier.

And of course, since that was essentially a PRIVATE foreclosure process where no third parties could bid (is that even constitutional?!?!), there are no overbids generated there.

However, mortgage foreclosure overages are certainly generated from time to time in Michigan just as everywhere else in the country.

I don’t know of any state where the government has devised a way to immediately grab extra proceeds from a mortgage foreclosure sale. So you can try about anywhere.

However:

1. Some states may restrict your fees from the beginning to very low amounts.
2. Some states may eventually get to keep the money if it sits on hand for a number of years.

I know you’ll be stuck at 10% or less in Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona when working mortgage overages, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. And there are probably several more states I’m not remembering right now. Most states will limit you to that amount after a couple years have gone by.

If you’re at all serious about giving the business a shot we are giving full access to our $1697 training for 30 days, for a deposit of only $97. Get the whole scoop here: htttp://knockoff.hookedonoverages.com?l=com

Hey Rick, When I did a little research on NY State’s procedures, I was appalled to find that we havew a similar set up; but I didn’t see NY on your list abive? Am I right that NY forecloses on a property long before they sell it or did I get mixed up somewhere? Just trying to get a clear picture! Bob

Bob, yes I did leave out little old New York. So I believe that makes NY, MI, WI, MN, and OR that foreclose the property ahead of time and keep all the spoils.

As of a couple years ago, New York even heaped another one on you – they considered what we do “soliciting” and hid behind this:

“An agency may require a person requesting lists of names and addresses to provide a written certification
that such person will not use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation or fund-raising purposes and will
not sell, give or otherwise make available such lists of names and addresses to any other person for the purpose
of allowing that person to use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation or fund-raising purposes”

Pretty lame, huh?

Now I see a law dated 2010 that states in part:

(c) Unless otherwise provided by this article, disclosure shall not be
construed to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy…
when a record or group of records relates to the right, title or
interest in real property, or relates to the inventory, status or
characteristics of real property, in which case disclosure and providing
copies of such record or group of records shall not be deemed an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

In fact here are tens of thousands of delinquent properties ready for you to download in electronic format for free:

So you’re good to go! NY issues tax liens on property along the way, that’s a good chance to get a mid-way delinquent list very easily, then at some point they foreclose. That’s when you want to be ready with a deed!

Rick,
Unfortunately I live in one of those “greedy” states you mentioned above. My county doesn’t even hold tax deed sales, is there a way I can obtain a list for the counties that do, if any?
I have to wait ’til pay day to order your e-book, don’t worry I’ve already labeled it a “must read”.

Actually, I don’t think it’s unfortunate at all that you live in a “greedy” state (though you certainly can’t try to collect tax sale overages there, since they go straight to the state).

But as far as buying distressed pre-tax sale properties from the owner, I don’t think it gets much better. Nobody but you and the owner (and maybe not even the owner) know that the property is about to be lost to the county for taxes.

Yes, perhaps the county publishes notice in the paper or something when they’re about to foreclose all the properties. However, most people think in terms of attending an auction, and they won’t think anything of it, that the county is in the process of acquiring the properties they’ll soon offer at the tax deed sale.

But you’ll be the only one that made the effort to get this list ahead of everyone else and get a shot at the property with no competitive bidding.

Finally, you can feel great about yourself, because as I outline in my article, the owner gets absolutely ZERO in these states if they property is foreclosed. Unbelievable, really.

so your saying that you can make money before it goes into the county name???? how ?? i cant see u making anything. i did a lot of researching and in my state yes its a mortgage state… i know how to get a pre-foreclosser list, but when you try talking to the owner they eather dont want to talk or they just dont give a dam anymore about the property… so can you explain a little more

You make money by looking up owners whose properties are about to be taken by the county by TAX foreclosure.

Note, this is different than the tax deed sale or the mortgage foreclosure process. This is the county’s tax foreclosure process in states such as these.

It sounds like you’re talking about getting a mortgage pre-foreclosure list, and yes I agree people I’ve talked to on that list aren’t too great to do deals with.

This list I’m talking about is a separate foreclosure list hardly anyone knows about where almost all the properties are free and clear. They’re being taken by the county for non-payment of taxes. Reason most are free and clear, is that the mortgage company would have redeemed the property by the time the county starts foreclosing – they stand to get completely wiped out.

In Michigan you can put together a list of properties going to TAX FORECLOSURE and contact the owners before hand, and get deals on the PROPERTY from them. You would them resell the property to make your profit. You would have to pay the taxes before the foreclosure takes place and/or resell the property before the foreclosure takes place. You would then make your profit. My DeedGrabber system describes this.

As described in the article above, collecting surplus funds does not work in Michigan about half the other states, because their tax sale system does not create surplus fund. In the states that do, you can actually collect the surplus funds on behalf of the owner for a finder fee. You DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN A STATE WITH OVERAGES TO WORK THE BUSINESS. You request everything by email and mail so you don’t need to live in a particular state to work there. http://knockoff.hookedonoverages.com

i know this is just a responder ad but for the love of god stop trying to say theres a tax deed sale auction anywhere in Michigan they stopped that in the 90s s so quit giving everyone here in michigan their hopes up your just trying to take our money

Rick,
Unfortunately I live in one of those “greedy” states you mentioned above. My county doesn’t even hold tax deed sales, is there a way I can obtain a list for the counties that do, if any?
I have to wait ’til pay day to order your e-book, don’t worry I’ve already labeled it a “must read”.

Actually, I don’t think it’s unfortunate at all that you live in a “greedy” state (though you certainly can’t try to collect tax sale overages there, since they go straight to the state).

But as far as buying distressed pre-tax sale properties from the owner, I don’t think it gets much better. Nobody but you and the owner (and maybe not even the owner) know that the property is about to be lost to the county for taxes.

Yes, perhaps the county publishes notice in the paper or something when they’re about to foreclose all the properties. However, most people think in terms of attending an auction, and they won’t think anything of it, that the county is in the process of acquiring the properties they’ll soon offer at the tax deed sale.

But you’ll be the only one that made the effort to get this list ahead of everyone else and get a shot at the property with no competitive bidding.

Finally, you can feel great about yourself, because as I outline in my article, the owner gets absolutely ZERO in these states if they property is foreclosed. Unbelievable, really.

Rick you are saying that in Michigan’s case you go after mortgage foreclosure overages rather than tax sales because the government has superseded in that particular state? Could you list the others so I have a grasp on what ones to do mortgage foreclosure overages? Thanks.

Yes, that’s what you’d have to do if you wanted to run an overages business in Michigan. Tax Sale overages simply don’t exist because the county owns the property at the time of the sale and therefore is just “selling” the property they acquired at foreclosure some months earlier.

And of course, since that was essentially a PRIVATE foreclosure process where no third parties could bid (is that even constitutional?!?!), there are no overbids generated there.

However, mortgage foreclosure overages are certainly generated from time to time in Michigan just as everywhere else in the country.

I don’t know of any state where the government has devised a way to immediately grab extra proceeds from a mortgage foreclosure sale. So you can try about anywhere.

However:

1. Some states may restrict your fees from the beginning to very low amounts.
2. Some states may eventually get to keep the money if it sits on hand for a number of years.

I know you’ll be stuck at 10% or less in Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and Arizona when working mortgage overages, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING. And there are probably several more states I’m not remembering right now. Most states will limit you to that amount after a couple years have gone by.

If you’re at all serious about giving the business a shot we are giving full access to our $1697 training for 30 days, for a deposit of only $97. Get the whole scoop here: htttp://knockoff.hookedonoverages.com?l=com

Hey Rick, When I did a little research on NY State’s procedures, I was appalled to find that we havew a similar set up… but I didn’t see NY on your list abive? Am I right that NY forecloses on a property long before they sell it or did I get mixed up somewhere? Just trying to get a clear picture! Bob

As of a couple years ago, New York even heaped another one on you – they considered what we do “soliciting” and hid behind this:

“An agency may require a person requesting lists of names and addresses to provide a written certification
that such person will not use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation or fund-raising purposes and will
not sell, give or otherwise make available such lists of names and addresses to any other person for the purpose
of allowing that person to use such lists of names and addresses for solicitation or fund-raising purposes”

Pretty lame, huh?

Now I see a law dated 2010 that states in part:

(c) Unless otherwise provided by this article, disclosure shall not be
construed to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy…..
when a record or group of records relates to the right, title or
interest in real property, or relates to the inventory, status or
characteristics of real property, in which case disclosure and providing
copies of such record or group of records shall not be deemed an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy.

In fact here are tens of thousands of delinquent properties ready for you to download in electronic format for free:

So you’re good to go! NY issues tax liens on property along the way, that’s a good chance to get a mid-way delinquent list very easily, then at some point they foreclose. That’s when you want to be ready with a deed!

so your saying that you can make money before it goes into the county name???? how ?? i cant see u making anything. i did a lot of researching and in my state yes its a mortgage state… i know how to get a pre-foreclosser list, but when you try talking to the owner they eather dont want to talk or they just dont give a dam anymore about the property… so can you explain a little more

You make money by looking up owners whose properties are about to be taken by the county by TAX foreclosure.

Note, this is different than the tax deed sale or the mortgage foreclosure process. This is the county’s tax foreclosure process in states such as these.

It sounds like you’re talking about getting a mortgage pre-foreclosure list, and yes I agree people I’ve talked to on that list aren’t too great to do deals with.

This list I’m talking about is a separate foreclosure list hardly anyone knows about where almost all the properties are free and clear. They’re being taken by the county for non-payment of taxes. Reason most are free and clear, is that the mortgage company would have redeemed the property by the time the county starts foreclosing – they stand to get completely wiped out.

In Michigan you can put together a list of properties going to TAX FORECLOSURE and contact the owners before hand, and get deals on the PROPERTY from them. You would them resell the property to make your profit. You would have to pay the taxes before the foreclosure takes place and/or resell the property before the foreclosure takes place. You would then make your profit. My DeedGrabber sytem describes this.

As described in the article above, collecting surplus funds does not work in Michigan about half the other states, because their tax sale system does not create surplus fund. In the states that do, you can actually collect the surplus funds on behalf of the owner for a finder fee. You DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN A STATE WITH OVERAGES TO WORK THE BUSINESS. You request everything by email and mail so you donâ€™t need to live in a particular state to work there. http://knockoff.hookedonoverages.com

Hello, I’m trying to find out how I can buy a house from a tax sale through the city or county, I’ve heard of it but I don’t have facts and this is not through auction, I need a house to live I’m, not to sale

It’s tough to get a great deal on a house you can live in, directly from the city or county – any suitable properties will likely be bid up. You’re better off contacting the owner prior to the sale and working out a deal on a vacant house!